Preview — Please Do Not Feed the Weirdo
by R.L. Stine

Please Do Not Feed the Weirdo

Robby and his sister Karla beg their parents to take them to a big carnival that has opened on the other side of town. When they arrive, the two kids are delighted by the rides, the sideshow, the interesting displays, and the great food booths. They wander away from their parents and find themselves at a less-trafficked area at the back of the carnival. Inside a large pennRobby and his sister Karla beg their parents to take them to a big carnival that has opened on the other side of town. When they arrive, the two kids are delighted by the rides, the sideshow, the interesting displays, and the great food booths. They wander away from their parents and find themselves at a less-trafficked area at the back of the carnival. Inside a large penned-in area, they see a dejected-looking boy about their age sitting on the grass. A sign on the tall metal fence reads: PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE WEIRDO.The kids are reluctant to disobey the sign, but the boy seems really nice. Karla hands him her cone through the fence. He thanks her very politely. He eats the ice cream, delicately at first, then ravenously, noisily-and as Robby and Karla stare in horror, he transforms into a raging, hairy beast....more

If the first three SlappyWorld books don't represent the best of Goosebumps, Please Do Not Feed the Weirdo at least comes close, taking the story to new and surprising places. Twelve-year-old Jordan Keppler and his eleven-year-old sister Karla have no idea their family trip to Carnival World is going to leave them with a parasitic monster that will prey on them until there's nothing left to take. It starts with a ride through the Tunnel of Fear, which breaks down halfway through, stranding JordaIf the first three SlappyWorld books don't represent the best of Goosebumps, Please Do Not Feed the Weirdo at least comes close, taking the story to new and surprising places. Twelve-year-old Jordan Keppler and his eleven-year-old sister Karla have no idea their family trip to Carnival World is going to leave them with a parasitic monster that will prey on them until there's nothing left to take. It starts with a ride through the Tunnel of Fear, which breaks down halfway through, stranding Jordan and Karla inside. Manny Ferber, who owns Carnival World, finds the two kids and gives them each a chocolate bar to apologize, but on their way to find their parents they run across a bizarre scene: a boy their age, locked in a cage. The boy claims he's Robby Ferber, the owner's son, and the PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE WEIRDO sign is a cruel joke his father plays so he can use Robby as a sideshow. Feeding him isn't dangerous, the sad-looking boy insists, and he's so hungry right now. Refusing a caged kid some scraps of food is hard, but Jordan and Karla wish they had. After a few bites of chocolate, Robby transforms into a furry green monster spouting neon orange vomit. He smashes through his cage and runs off, terrorizing carnival customers. Jordan and his sister are shellshocked. How could they have caused such pandemonium?

Recapturing the monster would be Manny Ferber's problem, except Robby can change into any form he wants, and he's decided Jordan is his new "owner". Robby follows the Kepplers home and wreaks more havoc, then joins Jordan's class at school as a new student. Jordan is on edge as the new kid aggressively monitors him to make sure he tells no one of the threat posed by the camouflaged monster. Unlike most Goosebumps books, Jordan's parents, his school, and the police believe there's a monster (the evidence is undeniable), but he has no proof the shy new kid is it. Robby's insistence that Jordan continue feeding him grows more worrisome as Robby resorts to threats, and Jordan never knows if anyone he's talking with might be Robby in disguise. He must end the madness before irreversible harm is done, and Jordan has a plan he thinks will work. Is he actually in control in his game of wits with a monster, or is Robby just waiting to play the final trump card?

Please Do Not Feed the Weirdo is the most cogent SlappyWorld book to this point in the series, and even offers subtle philosophical commentary. If people caution you against feeding a particular "beast", warning that it appears harmless but will latch on and suck you dry, it still feels like a shock and betrayal when that happens. The beasts we feed care only for their own hedonistic satisfaction, and their invasion into our lives is frightening. This is reflected in Robby's words to Jordan: "You have to start taking better care of me...I need more attention from you...Do you understand?" Jordan's response: "No. I don't understand...We didn't mean to let you out. We didn't know you were a monster." Monsters always demand more food, more attention, and the fact that we may not have recognized it as a monster when we first fed it doesn't diminish the harm it does us. Our monsters are meek and apologetic after they do evil, but soon they demand we feed them again, and won't take no for an answer. Robby is an unexpectedly potent allegory for some big concepts.

If not for an ending that's difficult to believe and a few plot points that also strain credulity, I might consider Please Do Not Feed the Weirdo the best Goosebumps book since the Horrorland series, if not the Series 2000. The story has real zip and the basic idea is full of possibilities, even if not all of them are explored. As it is, this is at least the best Goosebumps book since The Haunter from the Most Wanted series. If the next SlappyWorld story is this good, it's worth getting excited about....more

Wow! This year is going by really fast. It seems like it was just yesterday that I had received a review copy for Goosebumps Slappyworld: Please Do Not Feed the Weirdo; when actually, it was several months ago. My original intention was to post this review back in March, but due to personal issues, I haven't had very much free time to write a review. Therefore, I had to reread the book over the weekend, so I can have the story fresh in my mind for today.

Besides from the intro and side-intros froWow! This year is going by really fast. It seems like it was just yesterday that I had received a review copy for Goosebumps Slappyworld: Please Do Not Feed the Weirdo; when actually, it was several months ago. My original intention was to post this review back in March, but due to personal issues, I haven't had very much free time to write a review. Therefore, I had to reread the book over the weekend, so I can have the story fresh in my mind for today.

Besides from the intro and side-intros from character Slappy, the majority of the book surrounds around a twelve-year-old named Jordan Keppler and his younger sister Karla, who are trying to escape from a Robby, a boy who turns into a creature after he eats something. Sounds familiar? Well, at least to me it does. It sounds like the plot of Gremlins, only it involves a boy instead of a mogwai.

Unlike the Goosebumps books from the 1990s, Please Do Not Feed the Weirdo drops the horror feel and goes more for a comedy; though there are still a few scares here and there.

Overall, Goosebumps Slappyworld: Please Do Not Feed the Weirdo is an entertaining entry in the long-running children book franchise. It's not my favorite book from the Slappyworld spinoff, but I still enjoyed reading it....more

This series of books is starting to feel worn out. The story was only average but had the most terrible ending - one of the worst in all of R.L. Stine's works. Although Slappy makes a few of his awful comments through the story, it has nothing to do with wooden dolls. The theme is rather repetitive and I can only give three stars because it is rather boring.

Robert Lawrence Stine known as R. L. Stine and Jovial Bob Stine, is an American novelist and writer, well known for targeting younger audiences. Stine, who is often called the Stephen King of children's literature, is the author of dozens of popular horror fiction novellas, including the books in the Goosebumps, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly, The Nightmare Room and Fear Street series.

R. L. Stine bRobert Lawrence Stine known as R. L. Stine and Jovial Bob Stine, is an American novelist and writer, well known for targeting younger audiences. Stine, who is often called the Stephen King of children's literature, is the author of dozens of popular horror fiction novellas, including the books in the Goosebumps, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly, The Nightmare Room and Fear Street series.

R. L. Stine began his writing career when he was nine years old, and today he has achieved the position of the bestselling children's author in history. In the early 1990s, Stine was catapulted to fame when he wrote the unprecedented, bestselling Goosebumps® series, which sold more than 250 million copies and became a worldwide multimedia phenomenon. His other major series, Fear Street, has over 80 million copies sold.

Stine has received numerous awards of recognition, including several Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Awards, and he has been selected by kids as one of their favorite authors in the NEA's Read Across America program. He lives in New York, NY.